President Donald Trump has directed the Commerce Department to begin work on a new U.S. census that excludes illegal immigrants.
Trump announced the directive with a social media post on Truth Social, writing that the new Census will be based on the facts learned from the 2024 Presidential election.
“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census be conducted every 10 years and is “designed to count every resident in the United States” regardless of legal status.
The next official count is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2030, with preparations already underway for this lengthy process.
Trump’s announcement did not clarify if the new census directive would replace the regular decennial count or be conducted as an additional survey, though accurate counts are crucial due to the implications of population statistics.
Census data is critical as it determines how the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned among states, alongside influencing billions in federal funding and electoral college votes that decide Presidential elections.
The Texas Demographic Center states that there is $675 billion in federal funding that is determined by this Census, with any slight changes to signify a decrease in population likely to cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
The removal of illegal migrants would significantly shift both representation in the House of Representatives and the total federal funding provided to states, with certain states likely to be affected more than others.
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2024, the state with the most illegal migrants was California with roughly 1.8 million, followed closely by Texas with 1.6 million and Florida with 1.2 million.
After these three states, there was a significant dropoff as New York clocked 650,000 illegal migrants, and New Jersey reportedly has 475,000 illegal migrants.
Although these numbers could be significantly different, as certain states have chosen to strictly enforce immigration laws in recent years, new census directives could create major shifts in the states with the highest number of illegal migrants.